Method and means for forming selvage



J. R. McDowELL. 2,871,888

METHOD AND MEANS FOR FORMING sELvAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 3, 18959 I Filed June 15, 1956 V INVENTOR Jahn E Ma'wl A T R Y "I" .I'IIII Feb; 3, 1959 J. R. MCDOWELL METHOD AND 'MEANS FOR FORMING sELvAGE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June l5, 1956 United States Patent O This invention relates to loonisand more particularly to a methodand means for forming slvage in` a fabric as the fabric is being woven in a` loomin which the illing is 1supplied from sources outside of ashuttle or rllinginserting means. In certain Vty'pes 'of' looms a fillinginse'rting means or pilot 'picks up a leading"`end of a ll- 20 ing thread at one side ofthe loom and carries it across the loom where the'leacling'end is freed from the pilot and a filling thread from-` a separate` source of supply is picked up and carried across" the loorn in a reverse directOli.

An object of the invention is'toform a selvage by interweaving ends 'of illings in the fabric as theweaving of the fabri progresses. rr Other objectsand advantages will be apparent as the nature of the" invention is 4more fullydisclonsed.v 3

ln accordance withith invention, an endof an inserted lling thread or weft is` turned into an open shed of warps after the inserted filling `threadfha's been beaten'fintoV the fellofthefabri and the warps a've'been reversed. The

lay away from the fell of the fabric `as the pilot-towhich it iS attached is Carried` backwardly" thely, The free end A-is inserted in the shed` before the pilot is projected tvowardstheopposi'te" side `ofthe loorn to insert another filling thread. During the following for# ward movement of the lay, and as the open shed of warps is closing, or at the pointof closing, the end of th'e'thread which was turned in between the Vopen warps is `adv'a'ncec'l toward the fell of thefabric by a wire located on the lay inwardly from, the edge of fabric al distancer` corresponding to the desired widthN of the selvage. A hook on the end :of the wire pulls zthe f terminal portion of the insertedend downwardly through the lowerside of the shed astlhelay andthe wire continuato ,inove forwardly and downwardly. `'lfhe'portion of `theturnedin end remaining between the warps is beaten up at the same time` that the later-inserted lling thread is beaten up as 'the lay completes its" forward stroke.` The.-selvage at the other edge of the fabric is formed in the same manner in alternate cycles of the loom. Tlieends "of the llings wlibh have been` drawn through:|` the ndersideyofj 'the fabric are siibsequently cute-or 'k'tlietvis removed from the cloth.

The principle of the invention will be better understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which an embodiment of the invention has been set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawing, Fig. 1 is an elevational section through 65 2,871,888 Patentedl Feb. 3 1959 l rig. Tis an emarged sections View of'ai viv and' valve-operatingmechanism; l p Fi'g.` 8 is an enlarged detail. n

The loom with whichthe present invention is 'e'ruployed is a high* speed loon in which a pilot-projecting mecha- Iiisrn is mounted at each end, of `a 'lay for projecting al pilot or weft carrier to and froy along the lay. The ,pilot is projected from oppsife 'ends of the l'afy inirefnte cycles of the lay and in each cycleV a llling lthread carried by the pilot from one or vthe other of two sources of supply convenientfuto the 4reslpective endsfofi the lay; In succeeding cyclesmthe pilot picks up a filling-"threadfrom a source of ,supply adjacent oney end` ofthe lay and; carries it to the projectorna't-'the `otherend ofthe lay: where'the pilot is helduntiliaftef leading end` ofVK thread has beenreleased therefr'oi'nl Y Indisclosing the present invention it will suice to describe thelofom paris generally and with respect toV a projector located at one end'fof thelay.

The layV 10 `is supported by a pair' *of lay swords, onel of which is illustrated at 11 in Fig. 1. The lay swords` are mounted onl a pivotishaftfll journalled `in a parirnof` lo'n1""sides7of which the right-hand loom `side 13 is illus;y tratd in Fig. 1. Each lay swordiis yactuated f ronra connecting rod 14 pivotally connected at its front end to the sword by'apin- 1 5 and pivotally connected at its rear 'end to acrank 16 carried by a power-drivtn,crankshaft17V which makes onerevolution for each cycleof the loom.v The upper` ends of the swords are-connected by a rail 18 against which the npperwedge of a reedV or comb 121s clampedby a bar 20. The lower edge ofthe reed 1,9: rests .upon a plurality `ofbrackets V21 'whichu arefsecured; to the lay by bolts 22. The lower edge of the reed and CCA t A r a spacing bar 23 are iirmly clamped in position onthe end `1s freed from a pllot durlng the movement of the 30 a brackets.- l l v Thev pilot 24 (Fig. `2) is` gilided in 'a straightv courseI lengthwise of the lay by the vwires of the reednandwby.- ,aI plurality of spacially arrangedguides 25 which are car ried bylthe lay. The notches 26H' in the guides H25 face, the reed and provide together withvthe ree'latunnel'flike, racevay for lguiding the course ofthe pilot -,frf 1rn;o`r1 e projecting mechanism tothe other. Each guide isformed from a flat Vplatelikefstmgk of a durable jrnaterial,;spch1 as sheet steel, and their edges `are rounded to avoidinterff ference with `the wal-ps as they'move between thgwarps; as the lay is reciprocated. As shown,ingFig; =2 thofpil'ot 24 is contained `in the projector box 2720i lthe left hand projecting mechanism; j i j, I p `As is-well understood, the warp harnesses ZS-manipue latethe various warps 29a and 29b upwardly; and jdorwnV wardly in timed relationshipt'o the movement; offtheflaw The shed cycli-ng of the present loom-ds;approximately; such that whenthe crank- 16 Ais at O`f^ (360 andythe-,lay is in full front position; the shed is fully/lopen.; flhefshedW remains fully open until the lay is in full back fposition with the crank at 180, at which positionfthe',shedqstarts to `blosefand `becomesrftllly closedgwhen, heicrank has vrotated to fthecrank fpositionof;` 4The'shed-thong reverses and starts to open and becomes fully open when the crank completes a revolution at the crank position of 360 and the lay is in full front position.

As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, the position of the lay corresponds to the position of the crank after movement through an arc of about from full front position. As the lay moved from the fell of the fabric 30 the leading end 31 of the lilling thread 32 was pulled from the gripping means 33 (a hook and a spring member) on the pilot and extended substantially centrally of the open shed (Fig. 3). As the end is freed from the pilot it is blown into the open shed by a blast of air and disposed substantially as shown at 31a, Fig. 2.

The air jet is so timed that it will be effective on the thread end as the end comes free from the pilot. The

air is supplied by a compressor (not shown) which delivers compressed air to a-'supply pipe 35 having connection with a branch pipe 36 supplying air under pressure to a valve adjacent the'right end of the lay and a branch 37 supplying air under pressure to a valve 38 adjacent the left end of the lay. The valves are normally closed and', as shown` in Fig. 7, each valve is opened by an actuator 39, mounted on the lay, as the lay moves past the valve. In the position of the lay shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the valve 38 is open and air is owing through the conduit 40 and from the nozzle 41 whereby to deflect the end 31 of the filling thread into the open shed.

The lay carries a needle-like wire 42 mounted just forward of the guides 25 adjacent each edge of the fabric. Each wireis mounted on an adjustable bracket 43 which is attached in a iixed position on the lay at a distance inwardly from the edge of the fabric corresponding to the desired width of a selvage 44. The wire 42 is disposed in a plane perpendicular to the pivotal axis of the lay and moves into and out of the shed as the lay reciprocates.

The upper end of the Wire 42 is tapered to facilitate its entry between adjacent warps and a notch is provided to form a hook 45 for engaging the filling thread end 31a. In Fig. 5 the lay is moving forwardly and the shed has closed over the blown-in thread end 31a. As the lay continues forwardly and downwardly the wire 42 advances the previously blown-in end 31a towards the fell of the fabric and hooks onto the thread end. AS the hook 4S passes below the plane of the fabric the hook rakes the terminal portion 46 of the thread downwardly below the closed warps. The closed shed exerts suicient restraint on the hook-engaged thread to cause that portion of the end which remains interwoven in the fabric to form a tight selvage. Subsequently, the various loose ends 46 are cut or otherwise removed from the fabric.

The position of the wire 42 laterally of the lay aiects the tightness of the` selvage because the restraint of a closed shed on a blown-in thread end varies as the reed approaches the fell of the fabric. The wire 42 is adjustably mounted on the lay so as to be positionable closer to or further away from the fell for any given position of the lay with respect to the fell. As best seen in Fig. 8, the bracket 43 is mounted for adjustment on the lay. A shim 47 is located between the depending leg 48 of the bracket 443 and the front side of the lay, and a selected shim of suitable thickness provides means for determining the lateral position of the wire with respect to the lay and hence the degree of tightness of the selvage.

This invention is capable of numerous forms and various applications without departing from the essential features herein disclosed. It is therefore intended and desired 'that the specific description herein be deemed illustrative and not restrictive and that the patent shall cover all patentable novelty herein set forth; reference being had to the following claims rather than to the particular showing herein to indicate the scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a loom having a lay and heddles for manipulating warps for weaving a fabric, in combination, a lay,

means for inserting into an open shed the end of a weft extending from an edge of said fabric, and separate and distinct means for pulling the terminal portion of said inserted end through adjacent warps located a selvagewidth distance from said edge of the fabric.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said end-inserting means includes a pipe having a nozzle directed edgewise of said fabric and substantially central of said shed, a valve in said pipe, and means carried by said lay for actuating said valve in timed relation to the movement of said lay.

3. In a loom having a lay and heddles for manipulating warps for weaving a fabric, in combination, a lay, means for reciprocating said lay, means for blowing an end of a weft into an open shed, 'and a needle-like element mounted on said lay and extending upwardly therefrom in a plane perpendicular to the pivotal axis of said lay for movement through said warps as said lay is reciprocated, said element having a hook for engaging and pulling the terminal portion of said blown-in end through adjacent warps.

4. In a loom having a lay and heddles for manipulating warps for weaving a fabric, in combination, a lay, means for inserting into an open shed the end of a weft extending from an edge of said fabric, means for pulling the terminal portion of said inserted end through adjacent warps located a selvage-width distance from said edge of the fabric, said pulling means comprising a hook member extending upwardly from said lay in a plane perpendicular to the pivotal axis of said lay for movement through said warps as said lay is reciprocated, and means adjustably supporting said hook member on said lay whereby the distance of said hook member from the fell of the fabric for any given position of the lay with respect to the fell may be varied.

5. In a method for forming a selvage edge for a Woven fabric, the steps comprising turning into an open shed an end of a weft disposed to the outer side of a marginal warp entering a fabric, closing the shed on the turnedin end of the weft, drawing the terminal portion of said turned-in end through adjacent warps located at lselvagewidth distance from said marginal warp, and binding in and beating up the portion of said turned-in end remaining in said fabric.

6. In a method for forming a selvage edge for a woven fabric, the steps comprising blowing into an open shed the end of a weft which extends beyond a warp at the edge of a fabric being woven, closing the shed on said blown-in end, hooking said blown-in end by a hook moving in a plane perpendicular to said warps and located at selvage-width distance from said edge and thereby drawing the terminal portion of said blown-in end through said warps, and reversing said warps to bind into the fabric the length of said end held by said warps.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

